


Rewind

by alice_time



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Accidents with artifacts, Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Cuddling, Daniel touched a thing, Discipline, Fluff, Gen, Parental Jack O'Neill, Sam touched a thing, Spanking, Team as Family, Teen Daniel, Teen Sam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-01-27 03:58:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12573216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alice_time/pseuds/alice_time
Summary: Daniel and Sam touched a statue on a new planet--and ended up returned to their sixteen-year-old selves. While SGC scrambles to find a way to reverse what's been done, Jack is left trying to help his team cope with the changes.And they aren't coping particularly well.*Will contain spanking in later chapters.





	1. Chapter 1

The only comfort for Daniel, in that moment, was that he wasn’t the _only one_ who’d touched the thing. Sam was right there beside him in the infirmary. She was in the middle of the bed, knees pulled to her chest, head resting on her knees as she tried to take steady slow breaths after a bit of a panic attack. Daniel couldn’t blame her. The only reason he hadn’t had a panic attack was that he was still in shock. Dr. Frasier had wrapped a thermal blanket around him.

Jack was staring, silent, staring. Daniel squirmed a bit, uncomfortable under such intense scrutiny.

General Hammond walked in. “Tell me you’ve got some idea of what’s going on, Dr. Frasier.”

Janet sighed, holding her clipboard to her chest. “There’s nothing _medically_ wrong with them. The blood tests are normal. The genetic testing won’t be back for a few weeks though. There’s absolutely nothing I can do alter what’s been done. I can’t even hazard a guess at how it was done. It’s technology far beyond ours.”

“So you’re saying we’re stuck like this,” Sam said, lifting her face from her knees.

“For now at least.” Janet sighed. “The good news is, I’ve been monitoring them carefully, and their condition does seem stable.”

“Condition,” Daniel snorted. “We’ve been turned into teenagers. I don’t know that you can officially call that a condition.”

Jack sighed. “Do we have any idea how old they are?”

“Based on their teeth and bone elasticity and density, I’d say that they’re both in the fifteen to seventeen range.”

“Sixteen,” Daniel said. “If my height is any indication. I had a growth-spurt when I was seventeen.”

Sam nodded. “That’s my best guess as well.” She didn’t feel the urge to elaborate why she thought that was.

“I’ve got no choice but to put you both on leave until this can be fixed,” Hammond said after a long pause. “The program is already watched by a half-dozen federal agencies, putting teenagers into the field—even if it’s just that you _look_ like teenagers, is a bridge too far.” He eyed his scientists and then looked back to Dr. Frasier. “Speaking of, it is just physical, right?”

“Brain scans show their brain size and functions are the same as their physical bodies. However, their memories don’t seem to have been impacted at this point. I need to run through more tests though.”

“Do whatever you need to do.” General Hammond shook his head and exhaled. “We’ve handled stranger things than this—I think.”

Daniel wasn’t so sure about that.

General Hammond left, Dr. Frasier following him out. Jack shook his head.

“What is it with you two and _touching things_?”

“It looked perfectly harmless, sir,” Sam replied.

Daniel nodded. “There weren’t any warnings on it. And really, it was a statue, not an alien device.”

“Given that statues have _been_ alien devices, that’s really not a defense that’s going to fly, Daniel.” Jack raked a hand through his hair. “We’re gonna house you in the VIP quarters on level twenty-five. Just until we know…more.”

“What’s to know?” Daniel flopped back onto the bed. “We’re pubescent. Our clothes are too big. I’m not sure I can reach all the shelves in my office anymore.”

“Yup.” Sam popped the p. “I could use a beer.”

“Well that’s not happening,” Jack replied. “Doc would have my ears.”

Sam gave him a look. Even younger, those piercing blue eyes were sharp and unforgiving in that moment. Her hair was longer than Jack had ever seen it, draping over her shoulders in golden strands.

“You’re the one who touched the thing,” Jack reminded. “We sent in SG-9 to work with the locals. With any luck they’ll sort this out before we need to come up with cover stories.”

Sam groaned. “My dad is supposed to come for a visit next week. He’s going to freak out.”

“I’m pretty sure Jacob’s threshold for strange is high enough to take this in stride.” Well, at least it was now that Jacob was a member of the Tok’ra. “Don’t worry, Carter. We’ll sort this out.”

Daniel suddenly felt a little lucky. Which was the first time he’d felt that emotion even remotely connected to his parents being dead. His grandfather wouldn’t expect to hear from him. Well, no one would outside the team. Daniel hadn’t really made any new friends outside of the SGC. It was too hard with such a big secret to keep.

He pulled off his glasses, the prescription was definitely off now. He set them aside. “We might want to start with new glasses.”

“I can take care of that,” Dr. Frasier said as she returned. “You want to follow me to the optometry suite?”

“Sure.” Daniel sat up and slid off the bed.

Jack continued to stare. Daniel’s face was softer now, his hair was in his face and he had to hold the waistband of his trousers to keep them up. “After that, I think we’d better get the clothes situation sorted.”

“Agreed,” Dr. Frasier said. “You want to take Sam up to get some clothes that fit better?”

“Sure. Carter?”

“Sure.”

Jack had a feeling this mess was only going to get worse before it got better.

***

“You are so lucky I’m not armed right now!” Sam shouted.

Jack hurried into the room in time to see a corporal duck as Sam chucked a pillow at the man’s head. The corporal beat a hasty retreat.

“She’s crazy,” the young man hissed, rushing past Jack.

Jack sighed. “Carter, why are you threatening the younger officers?”

Sam turned toward Jack. “He asked my _bra_ size.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Doesn’t he work in requisitions?”

Sam was flushed and shook her head. “I don’t care. I’m not telling some _guy_ my bra size.” She flopped into a nearby armchair.

“Okay.” Jack was in over his head here. “Have you seen Daniel?”

“No.”

Dr. Frasier had mentioned, briefly, that there might be some instability. The human brain wasn’t quite done developing until the mid-twenties, which was why teenagers tended to take more risks and in general, behave like teenagers. Even with their memories, the newly teenaged scientists were going to be affected by their brain chemistry.

That effect was becoming more obvious.

“You sure you haven’t seen Daniel?” Jack prompted.

“It’s not like I’m his keeper.”

“Okay. I’ll just go check the security feeds.” Jack slipped out of the room. Yeah, this was getting worse. He called Dr. Frasier to check on Sam and then headed up to the security room. It wasn’t like Daniel could leave the base, everyone knew he was under a pseudo-quarantine, but it was a _big_ place. There were plenty of places you could stay out of the way. Jack had already checked the mess, Daniel’s office and the rooms he’d been assigned. Nothing.

His cellphone buzzed just as he sat down at the feeds.

“O’Neill.”

“Jack, I need you down in the gate room, Dr. Jackson just tried to dial out,” Harriman said. “He’s a little—upset. I’d prefer the marines didn’t have to get physical with him.”

“I’ll be right there.” Jack hurried back to the elevator, slamming the button for the lowest floor. First an uproar over a bra, and now this? Clearly they needed to work on handling the teenagers. Jack made it down to the gate room, eyeing Daniel. The kid was halfway up the side of the gate, clinging to it like a monkey while the marines stared.

“Sir,” the lead marine saluted. “Thank god, he won’t come down.”

“I’ll take care of it, go ahead and pull your men back.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jack sauntered up the ramp, tilting his head up a bit and staring at Daniel. “Whatcha doing, Danny?”

“I need to go back to that planet.” Daniel frowned. “I was trying to manually dial.”

“Right. Okay. Get your ass down here before you fall and break something.” Jack pointed at the ground.

“I’m almost done,” Daniel argued.

“Look, you know you have to come down to go through the gate, and you know I’m not going to let you go through the gate. Even if you get it to engage, we’ll just shut the iris and you’ll still be stuck on this base. You’ve got to the count of ten.”

Daniel blinked. “Are you serious?”

“One—two—three—four—”

Daniel scrambled back down the gate, landing lightly on the metal ramp.

Jack pointed at the spot just in front of him. “Seven…”

Daniel hurried over, pouting a bit, though Jack doubted he’d admit to pouting.

Jack grabbed his arm. “That was reckless, stupid, dangerous, reckless and absolutely stupid.”

“You kind of repeated a couple insults—”

“Not the time for your lip, Danny-boy. Let’s go.”

Not that Daniel had much of an option, as Jack had a tight grip on his arm and marched him out of the gate room with all those marines looking on. Daniel flushed. He felt like he was being called up to the principal’s office, and as Jack made for Hammond’s office, the feeling only deepened.

“Um, Jack, I would’ve been fine. I mean, I can climb pretty well.”

“Not the point.” Jack knocked and then pushed the door open, tugging the teenager inside after him. “General, we have a problem.”

General Hammond looked Daniel over. “You mean other than the obvious, I’m guessing. Harriman filled me in. Dr. Jackson, what in the Sam Hill were you thinking?”

“I—well the translations and everything would go much faster if I was on the planet, sir. Solving… _this_ , is my priority.” He gestured at himself. “I’m a resource you aren’t using.”

“Right. And you trying to hand dial the gate, while climbing up the thing, that’s supposed to prove to me that you’re of sound mind?”

“Sir—”

“Clearly, we need to remove the temptation. Jack, I think it’d be best if Dr. Jackson and Captain Carter were taken _off_ base. We can’t risk them trying to open the gate and getting into more trouble while they’re at it.” Hammond pulled out a pair of folders. “I had these made up just in case this went on too long, but I think we’ll have to use them now.”

Jack flipped open the files, eyeing the cover stories and freshly minted ID’s for his subordinates. “Thank you, sir. I suppose this means I’m going on leave as well?”

“I don’t see a way around it. I’m sending Teal’c in to assist SG-9 with SG-2 as a support. I’ll keep you apprised of developments.”

“Thank you. Can you have someone grab Carter? I’ll take them both home now.”

Hammond nodded and made a quick call. “They’ll meet you up top. Good luck, Jack.”

“I think I’ll need it, sir.” Jack picked up the files, resumed his grip on Daniel’s arm, and headed back to the elevator.

“I’m fine to stay at my apartment,” Daniel protested. “You don’t need to keep an eye on me.”

“Yes, I do.” Jack jabbed the correct button. “And if you pull another stunt like that, you won’t be sitting down easy for a week after I’m through with you.”

Daniel flushed. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me and find out.”

Yeah, Daniel was definitely not doing that. He clamped his lips shut and resolved to keep himself out of trouble until they had a fix for this. They had to find a fix for this.

They just had to.

***

“Unless you want to spend the next week or weeks wearing BDU’s, we have to go shopping,” Jack said.

Two pairs of blue eyes glared back at him.

“I can’t go out in public like this,” Daniel argued.

Sam nodded in agreement. “I don’t want people to see me like this.”

“It’s not like you’ve grown an extra head,” Jack argued. “We’re going shopping. Period. Now get in the car.”

“Can I drive?” Sam asked as she headed out the door.

“No.” Jack shook his head. “For one thing, Dr. Frasier hasn’t approved it.”

“I was driving at sixteen,” Sam replied.

“Still gonna be a no, Carter.” Jack opened the back door. “In.”

Sam got in the car, Daniel sliding in after her.

Jack didn’t have high hopes for this trip. Daniel was a smart-ass already and Sam could be just as sharp. Now they were hormonal and irritated. It was a recipe for disaster. He wished he’d thought to bring Teal’c along for back-up.

An hour later, and he was _really_ wishing he’d brought Teal’c along for back up. There were _some_ clothes in the cart, but definitely not a week’s worth. He’d no idea clothes shopping was this difficult.

“This is ridiculous,” Sam complained.

“You’re telling me,” Jack muttered.

Daniel finally emerged from the dressing room, discarding half of what he’d gone in with and dumping the rest in the cart. “Why do all these shirts have stupid sayings on them?”

“Because teenagers are weird.” Jack pointed to a pack of plain black t-shirts. “Just get those and let’s go. Sam, did you get what you need? I see like, three days of clothes there.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “I’ll grab a couple more pairs of jeans.”

“And shirts,” Jack said.

“Yeah, yeah.”

He really didn’t understand why this had to be difficult. Finally though, with the cart divided up between Daniel’s clothes and Sam’s, Jack herded everyone to the grocery section. They’d been eating practically everything in sight since Dr. Frasier discharged them. Jack had very little in his fridge beyond beer and some out of date take out containers. He focused on staples, milk, eggs, vegetables, before hitting up the breakfast aisle, bread aisle and steering everyone to the freezer section. By the time they were done, checked out and in the car, Jack was regretting the entire excursion.

“Okay, what do you want for dinner? I’m not feeling up to cooking after that.”

“Pizza,” Sam and Daniel answered in unison.

Jack blinked. That was a little eerie. “Okay. Pizza it is.” And then he was going to drink a couple beers and hope that when he woke up in the morning, his team was back to normal.

***

Daniel woke up slightly confused before recognizing the room in question as Jack’s living room. He sat up, raked a hand through his hair and realized with a groan that he was _still_ a teenager. He didn’t want to be resigned to it. He wanted to find a way to _fight_ it. Which he couldn’t do from Jack’s couch. But Jack was only one person and there would eventually be a point when Daniel could get back to the SGC, through the gate and back to that damn planet.

He didn’t want to go through puberty all over again. He didn’t think Sam did either. Neither one of them had the best teenage years. She lost her mother. He…he was trying to get out of foster care early by graduating high school sooner and heading to college, getting emancipated. Seeing his sixteen-year-old self in the mirror just made all of those memories rise up to the surface. He didn’t want to remember those years. He didn’t want to be reminded every time he saw his reflection that he’d been alone, shuffled from one foster home to the next. The too-smart kid no one wanted.

Damn, he was feeling maudlin this morning.

Sam woke up from a nightmare. She’d come home to find her mother had died. Her skin was sticky with sweat as she stumbled into the bathroom. A flash of anger churned her stomach and she slapped her hand against the wall with a sharp thud.

“ _Dammit_.” This wasn’t fair. She felt uneven. Gangly. Nothing worked quite the same way now.

“Sam?” Jack knocked on the bathroom door. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Sam replied too quickly, dashing away a few tears that had dared well up. She just needed to get her body back. Daniel had been on the right track, trying to get through the gate. He hadn’t succeeded, but then, they hadn’t been working together.

Well, she could fix that.

Sam washed up and headed downstairs, ignoring the concerned look Jack shot her. Daniel was sitting on the couch, looking much how Sam felt.

“Hey, Daniel.”

“Sam.” He looked up at her. “This sucks.”

“Yeah.” She nodded and plopped down next to him, grabbed one of his pillows to clutch. “We need to fix this.”

Daniel glanced over at her. “Yeah. Team up?”

She smiled. “Two heads are better than one.”

Daniel smiled back.

“Eat breakfast,” Jack called from upstairs. “Dr. Frasier wants more bloodwork from you!”

Sam groaned. “Of course she does.”

“She’s gonna meet us at Peterson since you two aren’t allowed in the mountain right now.”

Daniel sighed. “Well, that’s unfortunate.”

“I’m taking a shower, eat!”

Daniel’s stomach growled. “Okay, breakfast and plotting?”

“Sounds good to me.”

***

The trip to Peterson was about what Jack expected. His team was grumpy, slightly mutinous, and he had no doubt, plotting his downfall.

Of course they’d just gotten back to his place when his cell phone rang. The terrible two peeled off to do something away from him and Jack answered his phone.

“O’Neill.”

“Jack, we’ve got an update on that statue from the locals,” Hammond said.

Jack had a sudden, terrible, feeling. “Yeah?”

“Apparently the statue was given to the by their god, Pelops.”

“You mean the guy that used nanites to age the Argosians?”

“Yes, but there are no nanites in Dr. Jackson or Captain Carter’s blood. Dr. Frasier is still doing tests. We’re hoping the Tok’ra have an idea of what did this. The locals say that the statue _chooses_ and this change is a gift granted to the worthy. The scientists are saying they think that is a reference to Jaffa and also hosts. Since Carter was a host, it’s possible the statue sensed that. It’s all theory at the moment.”

“And Daniel? He’s never been a host.”

“No, which is why it’s all theory.” Hammond sighed. “We could be in for the long haul, Jack.”

“Yeah.” Jack sighed, wiping a hand down his face. “I don’t know if I can handle both of them.”

“You have my permission to do whatever you think is best. They’re still your team, Jack. Just…smaller.”

Jack sighed. “They might be smaller but their attitudes are bigger.”

Hammond snorted. “Not surprised there, I’ve seen Carter’s school records. She’s always been a bit insubordinate.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll do my best, sir.”

“All anyone can ask from you. You need assistance, just let me know. I’ve cleared Teal’c for leave once he gets back.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Hammond hung up.

_Whatever I think is best_. Jack knew full well what Hammond meant by that. He’d utilized physical discipline with Daniel before, and even Sam on the rare occasion, it was pretty common in the military, but the rules were a bit different with kids, well, cadets. Addendum Y48 was pretty clear on how he should proceed.

Step one, set clear expectations and rules. Boundaries were particularly important for teenagers and even if Sam and Danny had their memories, the last few days he’d noticed clearly that his team members were _not_ in their adult minds. He needed to work within their current states of mind.

He took a deep breath. “Daniel, Samantha, I need to talk to you!” He headed into the living room. The kids came tumbling down the stairs a moment later. Jack had a momentary flash. _This is what it would’ve been like…_ He shook his head. “Sit down.” He pointed at the couch.

They didn’t so much sit as they did fall onto the couch into a generally reclining slump. Jack forgot it was possible to sulk that dramatically. Their silence was highly suspicious.

“So, news. The statue in question came from Peplos. No nanites were found in your blood.”

Sam’s mouth opened, and then closed tight again. Daniel sighed.

“We’ll figure it out though. We always do.” Jack paused. “Now, we don’t know when we’ll have a fix.” He tried to ignore the unspoken _if_. “In the meantime, you two are with me. So…we need to talk about rules.”

Sam raised her eyebrows and glanced at Daniel. “Sir?”

“Rule one, you stay out of the SGC until you’re told otherwise. Two, you don’t go out on your own. Period. And it doesn’t count if you’re together. You need an adult looking adult. We don’t know what else this…thing, is going to do to you.”

“Why do I feel like I’m suddenly under house arrest?” Daniel growled. “We’re trained SGC members, Jack. We aren’t _actually_ children.”

Jack made a face. “Three, you aren’t allowed to drive without an adult.”

“Sir!” Sam disagreed sharply.

“Four,” Jack bowled ahead, “I tell you to do something, you do it. I think that’s it for now.”

They stared at him in different stages of disbelief, a moment later, they started arguing, talking over each other. Jack wasn’t really in the mood to sort out who was saying what beyond the repetition of _That’s not fair_ and _I’m not a kid!_

“Enough,” Jack snapped.

The scientists straightened, looking a touch nervous. Jack had used the _tone_. The one they both knew better than they’d like to know.

“This isn’t up for debate. And if you think _this_ is house arrest, I promise you that’s what’ll happen if you break the rules.” Jack took a breath. “And speaking of punishments, we need to talk about cadet rules.”

Sam flushed. “We aren’t actually kids, sir, I don’t see why we need to resort to _that_.”

Daniel frowned. “What are cadet rules?”

“Last time you almost got everyone killed by touching a thing, you remember what I did?”

The young archaeologist’s face turned red. “Yeah.”

“Well, cadet rules are a little different.”

“Humiliating, you mean,” Sam replied.

Jack sighed. “I’m calling that one, Samantha.”

She blinked and slumped back into the couch.

“All right, cadet rules. For one thing, it’s more discretionary. If I get to three, you get a spanking. No arguing. You break a rule, you might get a spanking. That’s up to me.”

“That’s a little different from usual, I guess,” Daniel glanced at Sam. “What’s the big difference then?”

“You take your spanking over my knees. You can also get corner time.” Jack looked at Daniel. The last time he’d spanked the archaeologist, it’d been with Daniel leaning over his desk. It gave an illusion of more control over the situation, that was for sure. The change wasn’t going to be easy for either of them. If there was one thing Sam and Daniel were both keen on, it was control.

“Oh, hell no,” Daniel argued.

“And that’s one for you, Daniel.”

“This isn’t fair!”

“Well, life isn’t fair. So, why don’t you two go sit at the dining table and write down all the rules ten times each. Make sure you remember them.” Jack pulled a pair of legal pads and pens from a nearby shelf and handed them over. “Go.”

They were still sulking, but they went.

Jack breathed a soft sigh of relief. Yeah, this was going to _great._

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teen-aged scientists plot. 
> 
> It doesn't go well.
> 
> *Ware, spankings

“You ready?” Sam asked, glancing back at Daniel.

“Yeah, let’s do this.” Daniel nodded and followed her out the window. Jack was asleep, dead to the world, giving them this chance. Sam knew every way in and out of the SGC, they didn’t have to go through the front to get to the gate room.

First though, they had to get to the mountain. Sam had already swiped Jack’s keys. They got to the ground and slipped around to the front. Sam unlocked the car and put it in neutral. They carefully rolled the it back out of the driveway and into the street before climbing in. Sam took the driver’s seat, started the car and they were off. Hopefully they’d make it to the gate room before anyone noticed they were gone.

Sam parked the car off the road and they hiked the rest of the way up the mountain to the auxiliary hatch. Sam knew every back door into the mountain. She got the hatch open, flashing a smile at Daniel. “See? Easy.”

Daniel shook his head. “Yeah, but we still have to get in there.”

“Don’t be a pessimist.” Sam started the climb down, and Daniel followed. They couldn’t risk the hall ways or the elevators, but this hatch didn’t go directly to the last level. They got down to level eleven.

“Now what?” Daniel peered out.

“Well, we need to get that grate open,” Sam pointed at a grate on the far wall of the hallway. “That goes into the ventilation system. We can go straight to the control center from there.” She pulled out her pocket knife, flipping it open to the screwdriver. “Keep a lookout.”

Daniel sighed. “Okay.” He was starting to see more of the flaws in the plan, but it was hard to argue with Sam. Besides, he didn’t disagree with the end game.

Sam moved quickly, getting the grate off and waving him over. Daniel looked both ways and ran across the hall and into the ventilation shaft after her. Sam got the grate mostly fixed in and started crawling.

“You do know where you’re going, right?” Daniel whispered.

“Of course.”

“So there’s no chance we’ll get lost in here and starve to death?”

“There’s that pessimism again.”

Sam continued leading the way, pausing now and again to listen. Finally though, they made it to the control room. The night watchman was there in place of Harriman.

“Now what?” Daniel hissed.

“I got this,” Sam promised. She loosened the grate, slowly let it slip down on one screw. Sam crawled out of the vent, sneaking over to a free computer station behind the watchman. She triggered an alert and quickly ducked out of sight.

The watchman started as the alert flashed on his screen. He jumped up and hurried away.

“Come on,” Sam gestured to Daniel.

He hurried out of the vent, watching as Sam started the gate sequence. “Okay, we’ve just go to get into the room now.”

“There are marines down there.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll move fast. It’s not like they’ll shoot us.” She paused. “Well, I don’t think they’ll shoot us.”

“Yeah, this is going to end badly.” But he followed her down the stairs to the gate room.

“Ready?” She stood just outside the door.

“I guess.” Daniel took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

Sam grinned. “It’ll be fine.”

The alarm went off, signaling the gate preparing to open. Sam shoved open the door and they took off running for the ramp. The marines shouted. Daniel focused on Sam and Sam focused on the event horizon as it appeared.

Only for the iris to close. Daniel grabbed Sam’s sleeve in time to pull her back. She looked back at him.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“Daniel James, Samantha Louise!” Cracked over the speaker.

Daniel and Sam slowly turned, looking up at the viewing windows—where Jack was standing. He did _not_ look happy. He pointed at them and made a come-hither gesture.

“We are so dead.”

***

For the first time in Daniel’s memory, they were in Jack’s office. Jack, who hadn’t known he even _had_ an office until a few months ago. And then only because Sam had told him, yes, he had one, and then pointed it out on the map.

It was about the same size as Daniel’s, but beyond a desk and a couch, it was pretty sparse. Jack didn’t really use it after all.

Jack stood his miscreants in front of his desk and sat on the top, peering down at them in disapproval. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“We need to get back to the statue,” Daniel replied. “You’re being unreasonable.”

“We have a right to be involved in solving this,” Sam added.

“Let’s start with the fact that you snuck out the window,” Jack said. “You _snuck out_ the window. You _stole_ my car. You then broke into the base and tried to dial a gate without clearance. If you were trying to prove you’re still capable SGC personnel, you’ve failed on every front.”

Daniel flushed.

“Sir—”

“No. Nothing you say could possibly make this less of a disaster. If the circumstances were any different, you’d be getting a court martial and Daniel’d be fired.” Jack gave them both a sharp look.

That seemed to subdue them a touch at least.

“Now, Sam, you’re going in that corner. I’ll deal with Daniel first.”

Sam slumped, but slunk into the corner. Jack grabbed Daniel by the arm and pulled him over to the couch.

“Jack,” Daniel complained.

Jack ignored the complaint, sat down on the couch and situated Daniel over his knees before the boy could make too much of a fuss. Sixteen-year-old Daniel was, thankfully, not quite so tall and no where as strong as his adult self. Jack took hold of Daniel’s wrist, holding the boy’s arm tight at his waist.

“You know why you’re here,” Jack said. “Anything could’ve happened to you and Sam.”

“I’m perfectly capable of—”

Jack cut him off with a hard swat. “If you’re going to talk, it should be in the form of _I’m sorry_. Now, let’s get started.” He spanked with sharp efficiency. Daniel was pretty sure they taught proper spanking technique in officer’s training. He certainly covered a lot of real estate in a short amount of time, those stinging sharp smacks raised a fast heat that had Daniel squirming. But he couldn’t get free of Jack’s iron hard grip. All he could do was kick and bite his lip against crying like a baby.

He wasn’t going to let Jack’s opinion of his juvenile appearance become further cemented by crying. Jack noticed the quiet, shaking his head. He propped his leg up on the coffee table, tilting Daniel down and smacking the most sensitive portion of Daniel’s behind, where he’d feel it most when he sat down.

Daniel yelped at that, spitting out his lower lip. Jack kept his attention on Daniel’s lower thighs for a bit before returning to the already heated flesh. The tears started soon after and Daniel kept kicking—but he wasn’t going anywhere. Daniel wasn’t sure why this was different from taking a spanking from Jack over a desk. Maybe it was because he was tired. Maybe it was because he was stuck in his sixteen-year-old body. It could’ve been anything, but he wasn’t holding up like he thought he should.

It even seemed to hurt more than it usually did, but that could be something to do with Jack’s hand being larger now in proportion. Jack certainly covered more area in one swat now that Daniel was stuck sixteen. He couldn’t imagine this was going to be easier for Sam. At least she’d had an idea what they were in for.

“You could’ve gotten seriously hurt. Or you could’ve been pulled over and arrested. You could’ve tripped the security. You could’ve gotten shot. _Anything_ could have happened to you!”

Daniel felt his lip tremble. Jack’s tone sent him right back to his school days. He hated that even more than being slung over Jack’s knees like a little kid. He didn’t want to feel like this.

“I’ve almost lost you both too many times already,” Jack said. “I won’t lose you to recklessness.”

 _That_ was an entirely different tone. And it made Daniel’s insides squirm. He hadn’t considered how Jack was feeling. He’d been too wrapped up in how awful everything was for him. For Sam. Hadn’t thought about Jack in this. He should have. Jack was just trying to keep them safe. He didn’t know how to handle this any better than they did.

“I’m sorry,” Daniel spat out finally. “I’m sorry!”

“All right,” Jack laid down a few final swats before gently patting Daniel’s backside. “All right, Danny. It’s all right now. I forgive you.” He rubbed Daniel’s back, giving him some time to calm down. He was still a bit teary when Jack got him upright again. “You go in the corner while I take care of Sam, okay?”

Daniel nodded, wiping tears away.

“Good boy. Sam, come here.”

Sam took a breath, eyeing Daniel’s tear-streaked face and swallowing her nerves. Having to listen to Daniel’s spanking was almost worse than getting one. Daniel took her place in the corner and she walked to her doom.

“Sir—I’m sorry.”

Jack took her by the wrist and tugged her over his lap. Sam squeaked, but didn’t lodge a protest. She’d never been half as much trouble as Daniel, but when she was in trouble, she didn’t do it by halves. She’d some experience with all this at least. She’d been seventeen when she was a cadet, young enough to have been subject to these rules before.

She took her spanking with less restraint than Daniel had. Sam kicked, clutching the couch cushion tight as Jack’s steady hand rained displeasure down on her rear. Sam was all too quickly reminded of her days as a cadet, being called up to the headmaster’s office after she was a bit too sharp with a professor or down right insubordinate.

Which was frequently.

It never took a lot to get Sam crying. She was always sorry before she ever went over anyone’s lap and this was no different. She thought it might have been, had she been the first one to go over Jack’s lap. Hearing Daniel punished first, hearing what Jack had to say, that chipped away at her anger.

And without anger to buoy her up, she found herself faced with the reality of what she’d done. Which was all that Jack had said it was. Reckless. Dangerous. She hadn’t been thinking and she’d dragged Daniel along with her. She didn’t feel right though, apologizing too quickly after he started. She deserved to get just as much as Daniel had, maybe more, she’d started this whole mess to begin with. Convinced him her plan was the right way to go.

Jack, however, knew Sam well enough to understand what she was thinking as the spanking went on longer than usual. He knew a quick fix for that though, and tipped her down just he’d done with Daniel, paying special attention to her sit spots. She capitulated soon after, sobbing her apologies.

“I know,” Jack took a breath and began the process of calming her down. Long gentle strokes down her back, murmuring soft words of comfort. “I know. I forgive you.” When she’d calmed a degree, he helped her up and then tugged her down next to him on the couch, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Come here, Daniel.” He patted the couch on his free side.

Daniel turned out of the corner, tears still dripping down his cheeks, and eyed the spot on the couch.

“Come on, kid.”

Daniel nodded and slipped over, settling down next Jack. Jack pulled Daniel in tight, holding both of them with ease. Jack didn’t even think about it, pressing a quick kiss to the top of each teenager’s head, continuing his soft litany of soothing phrases.

Before long, they were fast asleep in his arms. Jack wanted his team back, just the way they were, but he had to admit, just a bit, that there was a part of him that found it almost easier to deal with them this way.

Sometimes.

But they’d find a way to put things back to normal. They always did.

***

General Hammond stared down his nose at the sleep rumpled pair of teenagers.

“If Colonel O’Neill hadn’t already taken you to task, I guarantee I’d be doing so now,” he snapped. “I know you want to be involved, but we don’t know what this condition entails. I’m not going to put you in further danger by putting you back on that planet.”

Sam flushed. “I’m sorry, sir.”

“No matter what happens, you know this team is behind you all the way.” General Hammond glanced at Daniel. “Dr. Jackson?”

Daniel blinked. _Right._ “Yes, right. I’m sorry, sir.”

“Now, Jack is going to drive you home. We’ll keep you informed, but you _will_ stay with Jack. Is that clear?”

“Yes sir,” echoed back at him.

“Good. Jack, you can take them.”

Jack nodded at General Hammond and quickly corralled his scientists toward the elevator. The sun was up when they got to the surface.

“Where’d you park my truck anyway?”

“Oh, just off the road.” Sam pointed. “How did you get here so fast?”

“I called a cab. Also, pretty sure it’s faster to take the elevator than crawl through ventilation shafts.”

“I guess that was a little _Bond_ ,” Sam replied. “Worked though.”

“Yup, and now we can install new security measures. Make sure no one else does that.” Jack glanced at her. “You two should be professionals. Security testers.”

“Don’t think General Hammond would appreciate that,” Daniel said.

Jack shook his head. “Come on, the sooner we get home, the sooner you two can go back to bed.”

“The sun’s coming up,” Sam said.

“And you’ve slept all of three hours,” Jack replied. “You’re going to bed. And you’ll be going back to bed at nine thirty tonight. And every night for the next two weeks.”

“You’re giving us a bed time?” Daniel’s tone was all disbelief.

“Yes, and if you don’t stop the sass, you’ll get another spanking.”

Daniel flushed.

Jack got them in the car without any further protest. God. Kids were hard.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Daniel get some not so good news. 
> 
> *Ware, spanking

Jacob arrived at Jack’s house a few days later, a little confused. “Jack,” he said. “Hammond told me Sam is here?”

“That’s right,” Jack said. “Come on in.”

“Are you going to explain what’s going—”

Sam, at the sound of her father’s voice, rushed down stairs. “Dad!”

“Sam?” Jacob stared. “What happened?”

“There was this statue on a planet…” Sam bit her lip. “Me and Daniel kind of touched it and…” she gestured down at herself. “This happened.”

“Is that your dad?” Daniel came down the stairs a moment later. “Mr. Carter.”

“Daniel.” Jacob blinked. “When Hammond said there was something weird going on…this is not—I didn’t expect this.”

“Who does?” Sam shrugged.

“So you look about—sixteen?” Jacob sighed. “You guys have any idea how to fix this yet?”

“No,” Jack replied. “You want a beer?”

“Or three, sure.” Jacob nodded and headed into the living room. “I suppose this ranks up there with the stranger things that have happened to your team.”

“A bit,” Daniel agreed.

“There’s a team trying to figure it out,” Sam said. “Teal’c is with them.”

“I have a feeling you two would rather be there than here,” Jacob said.

“Since we don’t know if this thing could make them, hell, I don’t know, younger, they’ve been quarantined.” Jack handed Jacob a beer, top already off.

“That would be a disaster. I don’t know if I could handle pre-teens again.” Jacob shook his head and took swig.

“Well, teens are no dream either.” Jack glanced at the kids. “Sam and Danny snuck into the SGC through the _vents_ the other night. Trying to get through the gate.”

Jacob raised his eyebrows and turned his attention to his daughter. “Samantha?”

She flushed. “It was stupid.”

“Which is why the dynamic duo is _grounded_.” Jack sat down. “With any luck we’ll get this fixed before anyone needs braces.”

“I never had braces,” Daniel complained.

Jack waved a hand dismissively. “Anyway. All we know at this point is that the statue came from the same snakey guy that created a nano-virus to shorten the human life span to a hundred days.”

“But we don’t have nanites in our blood,” Sam said. “So it’s not that.”

Jacob shook his head. “This is…well, Selmak has never heard anything like it.”

“You’ll ask the other Tok’ra though, right?”

“Of course. Maybe we’ll get lucky.” Jacob sighed. “So, you two are going to stay out of trouble until we fix this, right?”

“Of course,” Sam replied.

“Daniel?” Jacob turned his full attention on Daniel.

“Uh—yes, of course.”

Jack snorted. “I’ll believe it when I see it. I’ve got them on cadet rules in the meantime.”

“I’m sure Sam remembers them pretty well.” Jacob glanced at his daughter. It was definitely strange, seeing her sixteen again. Then, it was probably even stranger for her. He couldn’t imagine waking up as a teenager. Or being zapped into being a teenager, however it happened.

“ _Dad_ ,” Sam complained.

“Yeah, I remember that tone.” Jacob smiled. “I can stick around if you want, Sam.”

“This kind of puts a dent in our vacation plans.” Sam sighed. “I appreciate the offer, Dad, but…this is already weird.”

Jack laughed.

“We’ll reschedule our vacation,” Jacob promised. “Soon as you’re—bigger.”

Sam nodded. “Yeah.”

“Everybody is going to be on this,” Jacob promised. “We’ll get you back to yourself.”

“Everybody except us,” Daniel muttered.

“Calling that one, Daniel.” Jack glanced at him.

Daniel sighed.

“Well, even if we aren’t going on vacation,” Jacob said. “How about you and me go get dinner?” He smiled at Sam. “You can get out of here for a little bit, right?”

Jack nodded. “That’s fine.”

“Great. Do you want to change or anything?” Jacob asked.

“Yeah, I’m not wearing this out.” Sam smiled and hurried back upstairs.

_Great_ , Daniel thought. An evening alone with Jack. Awesome.

***

Daniel was trying to content himself with photographs of the temple where the statue was. He had some of the images magnified, catching every scrap of what even _might_ be a pictogram or text. The translations didn’t say much more than they had the last time he’d worked on them.

_The worthy are granted the gift of_

The next words were either _second chance_ or _new life_. Which he supposed sort of made sense with the whole turned sixteen thing. There wasn’t anything about changing them back but then…there were the nanites. The nanite virus was still inactive in Jack’s blood. Maybe they could use that to get him and Sam back to normal.

He needed to talk to Sam about it. It was at least _a_ plan. He didn’t want to be stuck like this a minute longer.

_Second chance._

He didn’t need a second chance. He was happy with how his life had turned out. His childhood might have sucked. The academic community might have shunned him for his theories but now? Now was good. Mostly good. He had a team…a _family_. How was he supposed to contribute anything like this? Why would they even want him to stay if he couldn’t…if he couldn’t be in the field.

His grandfather hadn’t wanted him. He was too busy with his work. Daniel was just a kid, a useless kid. Now it was happening all over again. They’d already banned him from the SGC. How much longer would they try to fix it before they just cut him loose? Throw a cover story at the problem and then just…send him away? Everyone always sent him away.

_Nobody ever wants me._

Jack would get rid of him too.

“Danny?” The lights flicked on. “Why are you sitting up here in the dark?”

Daniel took a breath. “I was thinking.”

“Thinking by lurking in the dark?” Jack padded over to the bed. “Hey, are you okay?”

Daniel blinked. “Yeah.”

“You’re crying.” Jack sat down next to Daniel. “Tell me what’s wrong, kid.”

Daniel shook his head. “It’s not important.”

“I think it is.” Jack put an arm around his shoulders. “Come on. Something’s been eating at you for days now.”

Jack wasn’t wrong. Sure, sitting in the dark by himself thinking about all of this was just one step away from sitting in the dark by himself listening to emo music while thinking about all of this. Not that he’d done a whole lot of that—okay, he’d done a lot of that when he was sixteen. Jack didn’t have any of that music or Daniel probably _would_ have been listening to it.

“Daniel,” Jack prompted softly. “Come on.”

“If we can’t fix this…if we can’t fix this you’ll get rid of me. SGC will get rid of me. I’m already useless like this. I can’t see anything in these,” he gestured at the photos, “to explain how to fix us.”

“That’s never gonna happen. You’ll always have a place at the SGC. Hell, if we can’t fix this, you’ll be back at it in a couple years. You could spend that time working on translations. Culture. The stuff you actually care about. Maybe even go on some field missions. We’d never just cut you loose.”

“You can’t promise that,” Daniel snapped, tears falling in earnest. “No one ever wants to keep me.”

Jack took a breath. _God._ He couldn’t help but think if he’d had the chance, if he’d been there when Danny was sixteen the first time around. When he’d needed a home—a family. Could he have helped him then? Well, he was going to help him now.

Jack pulled Daniel closer. “Yes, I can.” Jack pet Daniel’s hair. “No matter what, you’re still part of this family. We’re a family, Danny. We’ll always be a family.”

Daniel sobbed, burying his face in Jack’s shoulder. “I’m scared.”

“I know. We’re all scared.” Jack was reminded of Charlie. He knew Daniel wasn’t Charlie. Daniel would never replace Charlie but…having him and Sam around, like this, it made him wish he’d had more kids. Of course, now he _had_ a couple kids. For a bit anyway. “But I’m here for you.” Jack took a breath. “You know I’m not—I don’t do the emotion thing all that well but, I do love you, kid.”

Daniel’s throat was too hot and dry to let him speak.  

“Come on, let’s get you a glass of water,” Jack said. “It’s gonna be okay, Danny.” He helped the kid up and onto his feet, gently leading him downstairs for a glass of water. “Drink that down.”

Daniel didn’t have it in him to argue.

Jack grabbed a clean dishcloth from the drawer and ran it under the tap. “Here.”

“Thanks.” Daniel cleaned himself up. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry for having feelings, Danny.” Jack ruffled his hair. “You want some ice cream?”

Daniel glanced at the clock. “It’s almost time for dinner.”

“Yeah, but I’m like the cool uncle.” He smiled. “Ice cream?”

“Yeah.” Daniel managed a smile.

“I’ll get the spoons.”

***

“What do you think?” Daniel finished explaining his nanite virus idea to Sam.

“It could work. I mean, it could _definitely_ work.” She took a breath. “There are risks too though.”

“There’s going to be a risk with anything we try but…do you really want to stay like this?”

Sam shook her head. “It was like totally déjà vu, being out to dinner with my dad. It was just like when we celebrated me getting into the academy. Down to not being allowed to have wine.” She snorted. “God, I miss wine.”

Daniel laughed. “I miss sleeping in my own apartment.”

“That too.” She sighed. “And my motorcycle.”

“It is a nice motorcycle.”

“I was supposed to work on it this weekend.” Sam flopped back on the bed. “We should talk to Janet. About the nanovirus. Hell, she might have already thought of it and dismissed it for reason we don’t know.”

“Yeah.”

Sam dug out her cellphone. “One way, or another, we’re gonna get our bodies back.”

“What if that means doing something Jack doesn’t like?”

She looked up at Daniel. “Well, then we piss off Jack.”

“He should be used to it by now at least.”

“At least we’re predictable.”

“Yeah.” Predictable.

***

Janet was unwilling to use the nanovirus. She was concerned that with its self-replicating nature it might also have the capacity to, well, _learn._ They’d shut it off once, but that didn’t mean they’d be able to do it again. And she wasn’t going to sentence two of her team-mates to death. They were better off staying the way they were.

Intellectually, Sam and Daniel understood this. Emotionally though…that was another kettle of fish.

“You have to at least _try_ ,” Sam protested. “Janet, please. I know the risks and I’m willing to take them.”

Janet sighed. “I’m sorry, Sam. I really am. But this is technology we still don’t fully understand. Now, we got the results back from the genetic testing. Everything came back perfectly normal. There’s no degradation of the DNA. You’re both healthy sixteen-year-olds.”

“Except I don’t want to _be_ sixteen,” Daniel said. “Any clue as to _how_ we ended up this way?”

“My best guess is that it was some kind of retro-virus that altered your genetic structure. Something well beyond our understanding. It altered your DNA. We’ve spoken to every alien race that would speak to us and apparently rapid aging is considered a weapon to most civilized races and they refused. Flatly.”

“Even the Tolan?” Sam asked.

“Yes. While they _could_ do it, they won’t. They don’t see _this_ as a problem to fix.” Janet shook her head. “I’m sorry. I will keep working on a solution for you but…I don’t know if we can fix it.”

“You have to,” Daniel said. “You can’t leave us like this!”

“Daniel, yelling at Dr. Frasier isn’t going to help,” Jack scolded. “She’s not going to stop trying, you know that.”

“But in the meantime,” Dr. Frasier went on, “we need to make some more structured arrangements.”

“What does that mean?” Sam asked.

“Well, you both deserve to sleep in actual beds. Instead of trading nights on Jack’s couch.”

“Hey, my couch is pretty comfortable!” Jack protested.

“It’s really not,” Daniel replied.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Dr. Frasier continued. “I have another guest room and Cassie is already on board, so Sam can stay with me.”

“You’re leaving me with him?” Daniel pointed at Jack.

“You’ll be fine.”

Daniel didn’t really appreciate Jack’s deadpan delivery.

“Now, I’m also going to have you both start seeing a therapist,” Dr. Frasier said. “You both need to start mentally preparing yourselves for the possibility that…that we can’t fix this.”

That wasn’t something either of them wanted to hear. Janet hadn’t wanted to say it either, but it was the truth. Genetically speaking, there was nothing _wrong_.

“That’s not acceptable.” Daniel stood up. “You can’t—I will _not_ be stuck like this!”

“Every test indicates you will age at a normal pace. You won’t be… _stuck._ You’ll just have to wait.”

“Yeah. Fantastic.” Daniel shook his head. “I get to be a teenager all over again and there’s nothing you can do about. That’s just fucking perfect! What the hell good are you if you can’t fix us! Why don’t you just take your good intentions and fuck off!”

“Daniel James,” Jack growled, “go to your room.”

Daniel froze.

“ _Now_ , Daniel.”

“This is total bullshit.” Daniel stormed up the stairs to the guestroom and slammed the door behind him.

Sam flinched. She was pissed too but…she preferred to simmer in silence for the moment.

“Okay, Sam. Get your stuff together and we’ll head to my place,” Janet said. “Okay?”

“Yeah, sure.” Sam headed up the stairs.

“That could have gone worse I suppose,” Janet said.

“Probably.” Jack shook his head. “God, Janet, what am I supposed to do here? Daniel has every right to be pissed off. I’d be pissed off in his shoes.”

“You have to stay consistent. That’s all we can do right now. Show Sam and Daniel their safety nets are still in place. That they have their family, not matter what.”

“Daniel kind of…broke down on me. He’s terrified I’d send him away if we couldn’t fix this. I mean, I knew he was in foster care and all, but I didn’t realize…he’s been through a lot more than I think anyone knows.”

“Add in the recent traumas of losing Sha’re and all of the near death experiences? This is just the icing on the cake. Old insecurities are just the tip of the iceberg here.”

“Yeah.” Jack nodded. “But it’s not like he or Sam are going to have to go through the normal teen years all over again and in a couple years…it won’t ever be the same, but we can try. Can’t we?”

“Yes. We can try.”

***

Jack headed up to see Daniel once Janet and Sam were gone. The kid was sulking, slumped over his knees with a heavily furrowed brow.

“Hey, Danny.”

“Jack.”

“We need to talk about you yelling at Dr. Frasier. I know emotions are high right now, but that’s no excuse for being a total asshole to someone who’s only trying to help you.”

Daniel shrugged. “What does it matter? Nothing matters anymore.”

“Yeah, it does.” Jack strode forward. “It matters, Daniel.” He sat down on the edge of the bed and grabbed Daniel’s arm, pulling him forward and over his lap. “You don’t get to be disrespectful just because you’re upset. That’s not okay, Daniel.”

“Let me go!”

“You don’t dictate terms to me, young man.”

That “young man” made Daniel freeze. It was weighted with a sharpness he’d never heard in Jack’s voice before. It was threatening and parental and…just a little terrifying. And then Jack’s hand came down on his backside with a sharp crack.

“I know this sucks, I do, but screaming at Janet isn’t going to fix anything. It’s not going to make you feel better either.” Jack spanked as he lectured. “You aren’t that kind of person.”

Daniel kicked, cursing Jack in every language that came to mind.

“This seem like a good time be swearing at me? I swear to god, Daniel, I will wash your mouth out with soap.”

Daniel’s eyes widened and a particularly hard swat to the center of his ass turned his next curse into a yelp.

“The doc is only trying to help. Only trying to keep you safe. We could still fix this, but even if we don’t, I’ve got you.”

Daniel couldn’t help the whimper that escaped him. Jack was too damn good at this. Every swat was placed for maximum coverage. Jack’s circuit kept the heat going evenly across Daniel’s butt, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it with Jack’s arm like an iron bar across his back. He hated that this made him feel like a child. He hated that he couldn’t make it stop. Mostly though, he hated that a little part of him had _asked_ for this.

He knew shouting at Dr. Frasier was stupid. He knew saying those things crossed the line. But he hadn’t cared. He’d wanted to push Jack away. Push everyone away. Prove they’d get rid of him. But he should’ve known better. They’d stolen Jack’s car and he hadn’t—he hadn’t thrown them to someone else to take care of. Faced with the possibility that he could be stuck like this, faced with growing up again, he’d wanted to know Jack would keep his promise.

It was pretty stupid, thinking back on it.

Pretty stupid in the moment too.

“You listening to me, Danny?”

“Yes,” Daniel yelped. “Yes, and I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry!”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. Really. It wasn’t okay. I’m sorry.” Daniel blinked away tears. “I’m sorry!”

Jack was inclined to believe him, and finished everything off with another half-dozen swats just to make sure his point was well made. “Okay, kid, I forgive you. It’s okay.” He combed his fingers through Daniel’s hair and rubbed his back. “It’s done. I’ve got you.”

“I don’t want to feel like this,” Daniel shook his head. “I hate feeling like this.”

“I know.” Jack got Daniel upright, pulling him into his arms. “I know. I can’t even imagine what this is like for you. But no matter what, you got me. Okay?”

“Okay.” Daniel took a breath, trying to regain some scrap of composure.

“You’re stuck with me.” Jack pressed a kiss to the top of Daniel’s head. “Always.”

_Always._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, the ethics of aging someone after they've been de-aged. Because I can't help myself. I honestly haven't made up my mind whether they'll go back to "normal" or have to grow up again. I'm leaning toward the latter though.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which details are worked out. 
> 
> *Ware, spankings

After breakfast the next morning, Jack pulled out the folder with Daniel’s new identity. “I thought we should go over this.”

Daniel sighed. “Okay.”

“They tried to keep it simple.” Jack laid the folder out. “Kept your first name the same, put together high school transcripts, a birth certificate, the usual.”

Daniel pulled the folder toward him and glanced through it. “This says you’re my cousin?”

“Easier to prove than anything else.”

“So what’s happened to Daniel Jackson? For that matter, what’s happened to Sam?”

“Detailed to our station in the Artic. You and Sam’s adult personas will be ghosts, paper trails. That’s how it’s gotta be, kid.”

“Great. I’m glad my imaginary self is having such a fulfilling experience.” Daniel continued flipping through the documents. “At least you gave me a decent GPA.”

“Didn’t want you to blow your top, did I?” Jack shrugged. “We copied most of it from your actual high school GPA. It was impressive for someone who went to like eight different schools.”

“Yeah.” Daniel frowned. “I could go back to college. Get a bachelor’s degree in something new.”

“You can do whatever you want to do, Daniel. Except go through the Stargate.”

“Right.” Daniel slid down in his chair. “Except that.”

“Hey, it’s for your protection. Maybe I can convince Hammond to let you go on some of the exploratory missions on the safe planets. Digs. Stuff like that.”

Daniel perked up a bit. “Really?”

“Yeah. As long as it’s safe.” Jack leaned forward. “That’s what all of this is about. Keeping you and Sam safe.”

“Okay.”

“We’re having lunch with Teal’c. He’s finally back and he wants to see how you two are doing.”

“That should be interesting.” Daniel straightened and pulled the driver’s license out of the folder. “How about we spend the morning convincing you I can still drive?”

“Sure.” Jack smiled. “We can do that.”

***

Daniel was no worse a driver than Sam, which meant he was just a little bit terrifying. Still, Jack couldn’t argue that the kid couldn’t drive. It wasn’t enough to let him go driving on his own, but he did let him drive them to the restaurant where they were all meeting.

Teal’c was wearing one of his many ridiculous hats, waiting for them at the table when they arrived.

“Daniel,” Teal’c smiled. “You look well. I am told you are to be called something else now.”

“Yeah, Daniel Melburn. It was my father’s name.” He’d appreciated them not choosing Ballard.

“Daniel Melburn. And Captain Carter?”

“Samantha Nielsen,” Jack replied. “Mother’s maiden name.”

Daniel nodded. “That’s not too bad.”

“I understand you will not be rejoining SG1.” Teal’c frowned. “I am sorry for that.”

“Me too.”

Sam arrived with Janet a few moments later.

“The gang’s all here,” Sam said, plopping down into the seat next to Daniel. “Daniel.”

“Sam.”

They shared a long look. A resigned sort of look.

“It is good to see you,” Teal’c said. “How are you?”

“I’m okay, Teal’c,” Sam replied. “Adjusting.”

Teal’c nodded. “I imagine it would be difficult. I wish we had found something in the temple to help.”

“It’s not your fault, Teal’c,” Daniel said. “We touched the statue.”

Sam nodded glumly. “Yeah. That wasn’t the best idea looking back.”

“You couldn’t have known it would do…this.” Jack glanced at both of them. “So no more blaming anyone. It happened. Nothing we can do about it now.”

Janet nodded. “We can only handle things as they are. You two should start thinking about what you want to do next. There are labs in the SGC that will always be yours. You can work there for the next couple years if that’s what you want.”

“Or not,” Jack added. “Like she said, your choice.”

The business of ordering food and drinks interrupted the conversation long enough for it to turn to less loaded issues. They talked about old friends, Jack brought up the last football game, Daniel and Sam spent fifteen minutes arguing about something science-y.

It was a nice, normal, evening out. Except that Daniel and Sam couldn’t drink and every so often the waiter would raise an eyebrow overhearing Daniel talk about grad-school like a foregone conclusion or Sam going on about something highly technical.

The important though, was it felt normal for Sam and Daniel. Like their friends still saw them as _them._ Sam had been worried about that. Being treated differently. While she wasn’t happy about being sidelined, knowing there was still a place for her at the SGC did help. None of this was easy, but everyone was _trying_ to make it easier.

And fashion was a little better for teenagers nowadays then it was when she was a kid. Not like, a _lot_ better, but it wasn’t neon, at least.

“Question for you—Jack,” Sam turned toward him.

“Sure.”

“Does this mean I’m not military anymore?” She gestured at herself.

“Well, you’re kind of underage.” Jack sighed. “There’s the ROTC?”

Sam gave him a look that could have melted steel. “Yeah, no. I earned my rank. I don’t want to lose it.”

“I’ll talk to Hammond about having reinstated when you turn eighteen again. If that’s what you want.”

“Okay.” She eased up on the glare. “I guess that’s the best I can expect.”

Jack shrugged. “You might have a hard time getting some of the grunts to listen to you though.”

“If I do, I’ll deal with it.”

Jack grinned. “Yeah, I bet you will.” He had to admit, he was looking forward to seeing some idiot get himself dressed down by an eighteen-year-old Sam. She could dress down a six-foot marine without breaking a sweat before this happened, he had every expectation she’d still be able to.

Just like Danny would still run circles around all the other archaeologists when it came to translating Go’auld—and confuse the hell out of any layman that asked him questions. They were the same people they’d always been, Jack knew that, but at the same time they weren’t the same.

The heart was the same.

But Jack couldn’t help thinking, this second chance Sam and Danny had gotten, it was just that. A second chance. Not just for them. Maybe, maybe it was Jack’s second chance too. To be something like a father.

Maybe.

***

Jack and Janet met later that week, leaving the kids in Teal’c’s capable hands.

“So, how’s it going?” Jack leaned onto the table. They’d decided on a coffee shop to feed Jack’s habit.

“I think Cassie is less okay with Sam’s…condition, than she thought she would be.” Janet sipped her tea. “And I think Sam wishes she was still with Daniel.”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Jack replied. “There’s a house a couple doors down from mine that’s for sale. It’s got two more bedrooms, two more bathrooms. Big kitchen.”

“You want to make that kind of commitment?” Janet raised her eyebrows.

“You and I both know that we’re going to be raising these kids. Our allies don’t want to assist, and our tech isn’t there yet. It’s not going to be there for years.”

Janet gave a slight nod in acknowledgement.

“I spoke to Hammond, SGC is going to help out with the purchase. We’ll get Sam and Daniel moved in properly, give them time to figure out their futures.” Jack sipped his coffee.

“Boundaries are what they need right now. Structure.”

Jack nodded. “I just—I think the locals were right about this.”

“In what way?”

“It’s a second chance.” He met her eyes. “For them. For me.” He’d always jokingly called Sam and Daniel his kids, but now… Jacob couldn’t be around all the time for Sam. He’d done his job raising her the first time around. And Sam couldn’t be running around with the Tok’ra.

Janet smiled. “I’m glad to hear you say that.”

“What can I say? They’ve always been family. They’re just a little shorter and mouthier now. And Daniel takes more showers.”

That got a laugh out of Janet. “Some boys are like that.”

“Thank god the SGC is still paying them, the water bill is obscene.” Jack finished his coffee. “I’d appreciate it if we kept doing this, you know? You’ve got a teenager. Now I’m going to have two. We could trade war stories?”

“Sure.” She smiled warmly. “Parent support group.”

Jack snorted. “Yeah.”

“Don’t worry, Jack, you’ll do great. You’re doing great. And they’ll settle. They’re moving through the stages of grief. I think we’re still in _anger_ at the moment with Sam.”

“Yeah. Danny sure is.”

“We’ll get them there. It’s just going to take some time.”

Time, Jack could give them.

***

The process of moving house was always stressful, but packing up two houses and an apartment, putting eighty percent of _stuff_ in storage and combining the rest of it, plus having the terrible two running around…was hellacious.

After a long day of having everything moved in to the new house, Jack was nearly ready to murder _them_. They’d been pushy and rude and gotten to three about midmorning. But Jack hadn’t had the time to punish them. Instead, he kept counting, keeping track of attitude, rudeness and a couple near death experiences. At the end of the day he sent them both to their rooms and sat down on his couch in their new living room and drank a beer.

Because handling them before he’d relaxed a bit was just a plain bad idea.

Jack knew this was going to be hard. He knew the kids were still working through everything. He knew the stress of moving was getting to all of them. On _top_ of the stress of everything else. He got through half his beer and set it aside, doing some of the deep breathing exercises one of his old therapists used to recommend. Finally, though, he climbed up the stairs and headed for Sam’s room, as it was the first one.

He knocked, waiting for Sam to call back before pushing the door open. One thing he remembered about teenagers was that they needed their privacy respected at least to a point. He could at least try to give them some here. Sam was sitting on her bed, which he noted had been made and she’d done a decent amount of unpacking while she’d been up here.

“You know what number I got to with you today?” Jack asked.

Sam shook her head.

“Twenty-three.” He gave her a look. “And you almost killed someone with a box of books.” Technically that was Sam _and_ Daniel’s fault, as they’d fought over the box near the top of the stairs and it had fallen over the side nearly beaming a mover in the head.

Sam bit her lip, looking down at her hands. “I’m sorry.”

“I know this has been stressful. So, here’s what we’re going to do. You’re getting twenty-three swats—and you’ll spend tomorrow putting the kitchen together. You’ll also write a letter of apology to the mover.”

Sam exhaled, a bit relieved.

Jack didn’t delay further, sitting down on the bed next to her and pulling her over his lap. “You need to count these,” he said. “Understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Forcing her to count made her focus on each moment of the day that had gone awry.

Each swat echoed, followed by Sam’s soft count. Once they’d finished, Jack gave the slightly teary teen a hug.

“It’s going to get easier, Sam.”

“I hope so.”

Jack rubbed her back gently. “I’ve got to take care of Daniel, you okay?”

“I’m okay.” She wiped her eyes. “I’ll do better.”

“I know you will.” Jack gave her one last pat on the back and stood. “Go pick a take-out menu, okay? We’ll order dinner in a bit.”

“Okay.”

Jack headed down the hall and knocked on Daniel’s door. A somewhat more disgruntled “Come in,” followed.

Jack slipped inside, eyeing the teenaged archaeologist. “So today wasn’t great.”

Daniel shrugged.

“The whole thing with the box? Not great.”

Daniel actually managed to look shame-faced then. “I’m sorry about that.”

“I kept count all day, what number do you think I got to?”

“Um…twelve?”

“Thirty-seven.” Jack made a face.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. So this is how it’s going to go. You get thirty-seven smacks. Tomorrow you’re going to unpack the library.” Though, admittedly, that wasn’t quite a punishment for Daniel. “You’re going to write a letter apologizing to the mover you almost killed. Understand?”

Daniel sighed. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Jack grabbed an armless chair that had ended up in Daniel’s room, moved it into the empty space and sat down. “Come here.”

Daniel sighed again, but stood and shuffled over to Jack. Jack didn’t leave him standing there, taking his wrist and tugging him over his knees. It was a somewhat more awkward position than he’d had Sam in, but then, she hadn’t gone past thirty.

“You need to count these,” Jack said.

Daniel frowned. “Seriously?”

“And now it’s thirty-eight,” Jack replied mildly.

“Okay, okay.” Daniel gripped the leg of the chair to steady himself.

Jack nodded to himself and started. He went slowly, waiting for Daniel to count before moving on to the next smack. Daniel realized this midway through and found it harder and harder to count, knowing it would bring on the next smack.

“You can do this, Danny,” Jack encouraged. “You’re doing good.”

“ _Twenty_ ,” Daniel said.

“That’s it.” Jack smacked the center of Daniel’s ass. “Keep going.”

“Twenty-one.”

They went on like that, Jack pushing Daniel on with comforting words until they finally finished. Daniel couldn’t help crying. Taking a punishment was one thing, having to participate in it? That was the worst thing Daniel could imagine. But Jack hadn’t left him out in the cold, he’d coaxed him along. Hadn’t punished him further when he couldn’t quite make it. Hadn’t yelled.

“I’m sorry,” Daniel wiped the tears away, finally back on his own two feet. “I don’t know why I was such a…brat.”

“It’s not like the past couple months have been easy, Danny. It’s going to get easier.” Jack stood and pulled Daniel into a hug. “I’m going to be here, every step of the way, okay?”

“Okay.” Daniel nodded. “Okay.”

“Sam should have picked out a take-out menu by now, you ready to order dinner?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” Jack smiled and led his boy downstairs. He was hoping the worst was behind them.

But then, his little scientists always did surprise him.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was short, I know, but I was having trouble with it. Best guess here is 1-2 more chapters.


	5. Epilogue

_Two years later_

They’d survived near invasions, Go’auld attacks, and some truly vicious plants, but the SGC had survived. Grown. Changed. There was a mission in the works to go to another _galaxy_ of all things. They had spacecraft now, actual spacecraft. Earth wasn’t the helpless planet it had been when they first went through the gate. They’d even saved Skaara from the Go’auld and returned him to Abydos. It had been bittersweet.

And Daniel wasn’t the person he’d been when he first saw the gate. He’d spent his two years doing things he’d never had time to do before. Learning all the Go’auld dialects Teal’c knew. Translating texts. Heading out digs in Egypt and South America—with nearly a squadron of armed Marines wherever he went. Jack had kept his promise, allowing Daniel and Sam to go through the gate when a planet was deemed safe. Participating in digs.

Getting kidnapped by giant lizard people.

He’d had some adventures, that was for sure. But he’d been looking forward to this day. He could look in the mirror and see someone that was getting closer to the face he used to see in the mirror. It hadn’t been as bad as he thought it would be, living with Jack. Hell, he was still living with Jack. It’d become comfortable. He liked not being alone more than he thought he would. Having Sam there to throw ideas to was nice too.

“General Hammond,” Daniel leaned into the man’s office. “How’s it going?”

“Dr. Jackson.” General Hammond smiled. “You been cleared for full duty?”

“Passed the combat training course.” Daniel smiled. “And we’re saying I’m eighteen now.”

“So it’s back to missions then? You don’t want to do something else?”

Daniel shrugged. “I’ve done a lot of things in the past two years but…I’ve missed being part of SG1.”

“I’ve missed that too.” Hammond pulled a set of ID’s from his desk drawer. “Welcome back to active duty, Dr. Jackson.” He tossed the lanyard to Daniel, who caught it easily.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Surprised Sam isn’t here.”

“Sam is celebrating by driving her motorcycle around the mountains. She’ll back in a couple days.” Daniel grinned.

“Good to hear. Go on, I’m sure you want to get started on your next mission brief.”

“Yes, sir.”

***

Sam had spent the last two years auditing college classes in addition to working on the Prometheus project at Area 51 when she wasn’t helping reverse engineer alien tech at the SGC. And sure, she might not have gotten as involved as she’d have liked in the whole saving the world business, but she _was_ involved. It was hard to keep her out of it all the time.

It was a little weird coming back to the base as an adult again. She’d done a lot of thinking while she was off full duty. She’d spent so much of her life in the military—but she wasn’t coming back to SG1 as military. It wasn’t just that she wasn’t sure anyone would take her seriously as a captain, though that was a bit of it. No, being a civilian contractor had a level of flexibility being in the military didn’t.

She certainly hadn’t thought she’d leave the military two years ago.

“Hey, Daniel.” She dropped into his office. “How’s it going?”

“Just reviewing the mission brief.” He smiled. “Have fun on your ride?”

“Yeah.” She sidled up next to him. “I missed my motorcycle. Missed being here too. It’s been three months, but even that was just for a consult.”

Daniel nodded. “I know. I’m looking forward to this.”

“You think Jack is going to ease up on his overprotectiveness?” Sam crossed her arms over her chest. “Even a little?”

“Probably not.” Daniel smiled. “But hey, you can carry a gun now _and_ you don’t have to worry about Jack swatting you for sass.”

“Says who?” Jack entered the doorway. “I will totally still swat you two for sass.”

“Oh, hey Jack,” Daniel flushed.

“Danny. Sam. You two ready for a real mission again?”

“Yes,” Sam replied with enthusiasm.

Jack shook his head. “You’d think I kept you two locked in a closet.”

“Well, not a _closet_ ,” Daniel said.

“Come on trouble, let’s get to the brief.”

***

“Just like old times,” Daniel said, wringing his jacket out.

“Yes, the running, the shooting—the you touching things you shouldn’t touch and nearly getting us all drowned.”

“Hey,” Daniel shook his head, water flinging from his hair. “I didn’t touch the thing this time. That was totally you.”

Teal’c snorted. “I am in agreement with Daniel Jackson. You did indeed lean on the button Colonel O’Neill.”

“Slander.” Jack threw a towel at Daniel’s head.

“It is good to have you back, Daniel Jackson,” Teal’c said.

“It’s good to be back.” Daniel scrubbed the towel through his hair.

“If you boys are done drying off, I hear there’s pie in the cafeteria,” Sam called.

Well, no one was going to say no to pie.

***

“Okay, kids,” Jack said. “How do you want to celebrate your first mission back?”

“Beer?” Sam asked, hopeful.

“I think I can allow _one_ beer a piece,” Jack replied after a moment. “ _One._ ”

“Yes, Uncle Jack,” the _kids_ dutifully replied.

Jack rolled his eyes. “I’ll fire up the barbecue. Teal’c is coming over.”

“He’s not bringing over those cookies, is he?” Daniel asked.

“If he is,” Sam said, “we’ll just have to chuck them out the window.”

“Good plan.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “Don’t throw them out the window, they kill the grass. We’ll burn them.”

“Got it!” Daniel headed into the kitchen, pulling out a pair of beers and handing one to Sam. “So, we made it.”

“Yeah.” Sam nodded. “It’s still not really the same but—I think I’m okay with that.” A statement which had taken some intensive therapy for her to come to terms with. “Certainly, okay with a few things that came out of this.” She smiled, glancing at Daniel.

He blushed. “Yeah. There are a few good things that came out of this.”

Sam grabbed the churchkey from the drawer, popping off the top of her beer and handing the tool to Daniel. She took a swig. “I’ve been thinking.”

“Yeah?”

“About the Atlantis expedition.”

“Me too.” Daniel cracked his beer open and took a drink. “Might take some fast-talking to convince Jack though.”

“Oh, I think we’ve got an advantage now.” She batted her eyelashes. “Have you ever seen him say no to the both of us when we _really_ want something? And not like something ridiculous. But something real?”

“No.”

“Exactly. Jack is teddy bear.” She leaned forward, pushing Daniel’s glasses back up his nose. “I’m looking forward to a new adventure.”

“Me too.” Daniel smiled.

“Kids! Get the hamburgers out of the fridge!”

“Yes, Jack!” Daniel shouted back. He shook his head. “It’s kind of…weird, talking about travelling across the galaxy while planning a barbecue.”

“A little,” Sam admitted. “But I know I’ll miss it. The normal stuff.”

“Yeah.” Daniel got the hamburgers out. “But the chance of discovery is…”

“Exactly.” Sam took a deep breath. “We have time though, they still haven’t solved the power issue.”

“Yeah, but now we’re back. We’ll solve the power issue and before you know it—another galaxy.”

“To the next adventure?” Sam held out her beer.

Daniel clinked his bottle against hers. “To the next adventure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...it's short. Sorry. Sometimes my last chapters just end up being short. No idea why. 
> 
> And yes, I left myself an opening to write a follow-up on Atlantis if the muse strikes.


End file.
